Machine for vending and registering tickets.



J, W1 SMALL.

MACHINE ESR VENDEQ AND BEGISTERNG TICKETS.

APPLIGTON FILED HOY. 10. 1911.

Mem-,ed Apr. 29, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. W. SMALL. MACHINE FOR VENDING AND RBGISTERING TICKETS.

APPLIGA'IIOE FILED FOV. IO. 1911.

Patente Apr. 29, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

mouw.

J. W. SMALL. MACHINE FOR VENDING AND REGISTEBNG TIGEBTS.

AEPLIGATION FILED HOV. 10. 1911.

Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET s,

Kum/. Ni NN i' .raisins WILEY SMALL, or RocHEsTEn, vNew YORK.

v MACHINE FOR VENDING AND REGIISTERING TICKETS.

, To' zZZ whom may concern.

' Be it known that I, JAMES WILEY SMALL, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester,- inthe county of Monroe andl State of New York, have invented certain. new and useful Improvement-s in .Machines for Vending and Registering Tickets, of

which the following is a specification.

The subject of the present invention is a machine, placed under the cont-rol 'of the yticket seller, which has a magazine approfv priat'e to the form of the tickets, and which at each operation will deliver a single ticket A and'registerv it so that the total number of ticketsdelivered by t-he machine will be shown at a glance.

The present application is one of a series of applica-tions which were filed on the dates and bear' the' serial'numbers following, to-

wiuapgnes), 1911, Serial NQ. 621,031, upon which Patent Number 1,022,159 was issued April 2,1912; Oct. 20, 1911, Serial '"No.' 655,672; March 16, 1912, Serial No.

684,187, and-April 29, 1912, Serial No. V693,908.1',-These applications relate to machines -forvending postage stamps, tickets 4and similar articles, and to machines for aixing stamps, .labelsv and similar articles to letters, parcels andthe like. All of these machines include mechanism for feedingv forward, step by step, a strip or ribbon `comprising l a number of such stamps,= tickets, or the like, and means for severlng the tickets, one at a time, from the strip,

but I desire to have it understood that none of the claims in any of said applications is,

' to be considered as having been abandoned or dedica-ted to the public by reason of the fact'that its subject matter is shown and described, but not claimed, 'in any other of said applications.

The object of the invention which forms the subject of the presentapplication, stated generally, is to provide a machine which -will accurately vend tickets for different uses, one at a'time, especially when the tickets are printed consecutively on a continuous' strip'of-.paper or other suitable material of indefinite length.

More particularly stated, the objects of the invention are to advance the ticket strip a distance-exactly equalqto the length' of a single ticket at each operation of the machine: to( provide feed mechanism having -feeddogs which are manually retracted by movementderived from the cutting mechaspecification of Leiters Patent.

4Application led November 10, 1911.

Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

Serial No. 659,598.

nism during' its operation of severing the ticket and automatically advanced by the recoil of a spring which is manually put under tension by the operation of-the cutting mechanism; to lock the vending mechanism and close the deliver;T opening of the casings by means which is concealed and protected as against ,surreptitious access, and, generally to improve the eiiiciency of the machine.

To these ends the invention consistsin the features of novelty that are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are made'a part of this specification vand in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a ticket vending and registering machine embodying the invention with one side of the casing removed, all ofthe movable parts being shown' in elevation, while the ticket race is shown in vertical section on line l-1, Fig. 3 and a fragment of the -magazine being shown. Fig. 2 is yan elevation of the delivery endof the machine, the. operating lever being shown in section. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical transverse sections on the lines 3 3 and 4;-4,'Fig. l, looking in the direct-ions of the arrows, respectively. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken practically on the line 5*-5, Fig. 1, looking downward. Fig. 6 is a detail showing the mechanism for locking the machine. All. of the foregoing figures are drawn on practicallyI full lscale. F 1g. 7 is a side elevation on a smaller scale of a machine embodying the invention.-

For the purpose of this application I have shown the invention as embodied in a machine which is 'adapted to vend tickets which areprinted upon a continuous strip which is afterward done up in the form of a roll, but it will be manifest that some features ofthe invention are a plicable to the vending and 'registering of) tickets ,of other forms, and I therefore reserve lto-myself the exclusive right to use the several features of the invention in any machine in which they are capable of use. The niachine sho-Wn in the drawings has a circular magazine, 1Q, which contains the roll, 11, of tickets that is supported by a trunnion; 12. For facility in placing the'roll of tickets within the magazine, the latter isz'fornie'd in two parts (practically halves) "which'j'are hinged together, as at 13, andon'ef these parts is provided with a chute, 14, forguiding l`the free end of the ticket. strip to the delivering and registering mechanism. vThe individual tickets may or may not be separated by weakened lines but they must be provided with such physical features that will provide shoulders adapted to be engaged by thefeed dogs and opposit'ely presented shoulders which are adapted to engage and actuate the registering mechanism. To this end one or both edges of the ticket strip are provided with a series of notches and 15a, which preferably occur between adjacent tickets. Erom the chute, 14, the tickets pass on to the bot.tom,f1t, or a race, which extends compie-tely through the casing 17, to the delivery end, 18, thereof, which latter is provided with an opening 18a through which the tickets emerge. This race comprises the bottom (16) and two sides, 19, which are just sufficiently far apart to allow the tickets to pass freely between them, without binding. The bottom (15) of the race is provided in its top side with parallel grooves, 2O and 20, which are of sufhcient. dist-ance apart to register with or lie beneath the notches, 15

I and 15, respectively in the sides of the ticket strip. The ticket strip is held down upon the bottom of the race, especially where it is engaged by the feed dogs and the registermg mechanism, by a. plate spring, 21, one end of which, 22, is secured to the receiving end, 23, while the other. end, 24, rests upon the ticket strip, by which and an'inclined guide, 25, the free end. of the ticket st-rip is guided into theaforesaid opening through the delivery end, 18a of the casing.

The tickets are fed forward by a pair of spring pressed dogs, 26 and 26a, the toes of which are adapted to enter the notches of the ticket strip. These feed dogs are in the form of levers which are independently fulcrumed upon a pin, 27, carried by a pendent hanger preferably formed of two parts, 28 and' 28a, the upper ends of which parts are rigidly secured to i'iangesof an arbor, 29, loosely fulcrumed in the front and back of the casing, spacing sleeves, 30, being loosely mounted upon the'arbor between the casing and the hanger for the purpose of permitting the hanger to swing freely and at the same time confine it to proper position. The dogs are held yieldingly in engaging positions by delicate coiled springs, 31 and 31, each of which is connected at one end to the projecting' heel end o-f the dog and at the other end to the hanger, and in order to prevent the lower ends ofthe two-parts of the hanger' from clamping and binding the dogs, so as `to prevent their absolutely free movement, they are spacedapart by shoulders A von the rivets, 28"by which they are connected. The dogs are reciprocated back and forth each time through a distance equal to the length of a single ticket, by the oscillation of the hanger, and vthis oscillation is' produced by a bell crank lever, 32, one` arm,"-

33, of which has a radially disposed slot, 34,-

`or operating lever, 42, which is fulcrumed to the casing at 43,.whence it projects outward through the slot, 44, in the delivery end, 18, of the casing and is provided at its outer end with a suitable handle, 45. The main lever, 42, is held in normal position, z'. e., with the handle, 45, up, by the heavy coiled spring, *46, and this spring, acting through the main lever, will hold the feed dogs in forward positions, acting through the medium of the bell crank lever, 32, the pin, 35, and the hanger in opposition to the resistance of a 'lighter coiled spring, 47, which is connected at one end to the hanger and at the other end is anchored to the casing. The depressing of the handle will-put the main spring, 46, under tension and will allow the spring, 47, to rock the bell crank lever in the direction of the arrow placed upon it (counter clockwise), and this in turn will oscillate the hanger, thereby re-tracting the dogs to position for engaging the next succeeding notches, 15 and 15a. For the purpose of limiting the movement of the parts under the influence of the spring, 47, and thereby stopping the advancing movement of the dogs at the proper point, a stop pin, 32", is secured to the casing in the path of the arm, 33, of the bell crank lever. When the pressure upon the handle is released, the main spring will contract and thereby depress the anti-friction roller, 41, and rock the bell crank vlever and hangers clockwise in opposition to 4the resistance of the coiled spring, 47. This again advances the feed dogs and feeds the ticket strip forward a distance equal to the length of one ticket, but the advancing movement of t-he dogs is always regulated and controlled by the hand lever through the medium of the bell crank lever, 32, and the anti-friction roller, 41, thereby prevent-ing the shocks and jars that would result from t-he advancing movement of the vdogs if they were released instantaneously and thereafter unrestrained. Thus it will be seen, the conditioning of the feed mechanism to operate is produced automatically by the spring, 47, when the hand-lever is depressed, while the operation of actually feeding the ticket strip forward is prol. v duced auttmatically by the spring, 46, acting through the medium of the anti-friction roller, 41. i'

Normally one ticket is always protruding from the delivery end of the casing, as shown in Fig. 7, and the depressing 'of' the handle cuts off this ticket, and, as' before stated, conditions the feeding mechanism to feed another ticket forward when the hannostrani dleis released. For-cutting off the tickets the main lever is provided with a projection, 48, providing a shoulder which engages a pin, e9, projecting from a cutting blade, 50, fulcrumed at- 51, and operating in thef-head of the fulcrum screw, 5l, and thev blade for the purpose of holding lthe latter in proper cutting positionrelatively to the leger blade.

The'sole function of` the mechanism thus far described in detail, is to sever and deliver the tickets, one at a time, and has nothing Whatever to do-With the registering of the delivered tickets excepting thatthe registering mechanism derives its movement and actuating power from the ticket strip as the latter advances, so that'if the supply of tickets becomes exhausted, or for any other reason a ticket is not fed forward by the operation of the mechanism so far described, the registering mechanism will not vbe operated. On the other. hand, if

'the handle is not depressed to operate the feeding mechanism and one or more tickets are drawn out, lthe fact Will'be registered. The registering mechanism has an adding train, 57, suitably supportedV Within the casing but so as to be visible from the outside thereof.'v This adding ltrain may berof any suitable or known constructie-,1 and has Aa link, '58, mounted upc-n its sha?. 59, so that each time it is oscillated it will advance the unit Wheel one point. To the uter end of this link, is pivotally connected the upper end of the thrust rod, 60, the lower end of which is pivoted at 6l near the outer end of a link, 62, the other -end of which latter is pivoted to an arm, G3, of a bracket, 64, located within and suitably secured to the casing. -To the outer .end of the link, 62, preferably beyond the pivot, 6l, is pivoted a star Wheel, 65, which is located in the vertical plane of the groove, 20, of the ticket race. As shown 'in the drawingwthis star Wheel has three equidistant arms orteeth, 65a., 65", and 65, and the 'extremity ofeach of the teeth is providedjwith a notch to insure its engagement with the .shoulders of the ticket strip, whichare provided by the notches, 15. This star Wheel is supported solely by a link, 62, andis therefore f float- 111g or in other Words capable of moving bodily up arid down in anarc struck from the pivotal center of the link, 62. Normally theftwo adjacent teeth (65a and 65") of the star Wheel 'rest upon the upper surface of the ticket strip and the star Wheel is constantly urged dcs-"iward by a delicate coiled spring, 66, the lower end of which is anchoredai' 67 to the bracket, 64, andthe upper end of Which is connected at 68 tothe thrust rod, 60. Y

Allof the parts of both the feeding and registering mechanism are shown in their normal positions before the commencement ofthe vending operation in all ofthe several figures of the drawings.

.In order to keep the delivery slot- 18a closed so as to prevent the delivery of tickets through'it until by a manual opera? tion is permitted to be again vautomatically -opened in the normal operation of the machine, a lock or detent is automatically movedinto engagement with a movable part -nism from the detent by unauthorized per' sons. The detent is concealed and protected by a suitable lcck, as l7l', so as t'o be inaccessible excepting to authorized persons. VThe inventen is not limited to means of any particular construction for concealing, protecting and locking the detent, as an means suitable for the purpose may be use The detent for locking the mechanism and lkeeping the opening closed is best shown in It consists vof a slide 7 2, lying Fig. G. against the innerjface ola, side of the cas mg slot 73 through which passes the non-circular shank of a bolt 74 having an enlarged head, 75, Whichbears against the inner face of the slide and holds it in place, While permitting itto slide over the bolt transversely thereof, the extent of its movement being limited by the length of the slot and passes loosely through av perforation through the wall of the casing, its projecting end being screw threaded for the recept-ion of a milled thumb nut, 76. By tightening this nut, the slide is locked and prevented from moving endwise, while by loosening.- it the slide is left free to be moved by a spring 77. The forward end of the slide lies in the vertical plane of the operating lever, 42, and has an inclined surface, 78, Which'is adapted to engage the rear end of the lever. When the thumb nut, 76, is'tightened, the lslide 'is inactive, but-when the nut is loosened,- the spring, 77, impels the slide forward, causing it to be automatically projected beneath and" engage the under side of the rear end vof the ',lever, When the latter reaches its highest lposition.- Whil'ein this position the knife Y blade, 50, is down, having ust completed the and, having through; it a longitudinal severing of a ticket, and closes the ,delivery opening 18, until ,thearm is again moved by the-main sprmg, 46. This, as already stated, is prevented by slide 72, acting as a detent, and the slide can be Awithdrawn from its locking engagement wit-li the main lever onlyby a manual operation by a authorized person. Any meahgfor manuaglgy operating the slide may be used. It may have a perforation 79, adapted to receive a hook or other implement introduced through a suit able opening ofthe casing but, as before intimated, this opening, wherever located or of whatever character is protected by a lock, as 7l.

I/Vhat- I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. lIn a machine of the class described the combination' of' a ticket magazine, mechanism for feeding 'the tickets forward, step by step, automatically operating mechanism having a spring, for retracting the feeding mechanism, l a main spring. superior in strength to the retract-ing spring for advancing theffeeding mechanism and manually operable mechanism including the hand dej vice by which the machine is normally operated for puttingthe main spring under tension.

2. In a machine of the class described the combination with a casing having iiieansfor supportinga strip of tickets, or the like, of mechanism having a reciprocable part for feeding theV strip forward, step by step, a spring for automatically retractiiig said re ciprocable part after each feeding operation and conditioning it for the next operation, a main spring superior in strength tothe retract-ing spring, mechanism interposed between said main spring and reciprocable part. for advancing the latter in opposition vto the force of the. retracting spring, and a combination of a ticketmagazine, and mech-I hand-'lever engaged b v the main spring for putting it Vunder tension when manually operated, which hand-lever is in turn automatically restored to normal position by the main spring upon the release of the handlever.-

3. In a machine oithe class described, vthe combination of atticket magazine, and inechanism for feedingthe tickets forward, one at a time, saidifeeding mechanism having a reciprocalblje dogl a'ndimeans for reciprocatingit, said Ireciprocating means having a spring for-advancing the dog, means having a hand lever for retracting the dog in opposition to the resistance of saidsprinr` and means whereby the advancing movement ofthe dog is restrained and controlled by the hand lever.

4; In a machine of the class described, the

anisni for feeding the tickets forward, one

:at a time, said feeding mechanism having 'l a reciprocable dog and means for reciprocating it, said reciprocating means having a spring for moving the dog in'. one direction,

a hand lever for moving it in the opposite' direction, and a second' spring, superior in strength to the spring aforesaid, for moving the hand lever.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a ticket magazine, and mechanism for feeding the tickets forward, one at atime, said feeding mechanism having a reciprocable dog and means for reciprocating it, said reciprocating means 'having a depending hanger to which the dog is pivoted, a spring acting constantly upon said lever for moving it in 'the direction which retracts the dog, a bell crank lever, one arm of which engages the hanger and a hand lever in cont-act with which the other arm of the bell crank lever is held constantly by the action of the spring aforesaid, whereby the movement of the parts is placed under manual control.

6. In af machine of the class described, the combination of a ticket magazine, and mechanism for feeding the tickets forward, 'one at a time, said feeding mechanism having an oscillating hanger to which the dog is pivoted, a spring for retracting'the dog, a bell crank lever, one arm of which engages the hanger, a hand lever. engaging the other arm of said bell cranklever, and a spring superior in strength to the spring aforesaid for lifting -the hand -lever and retracting the dog.

7.' In a. machine of theclass described, the combination of a ticket magazine, cutting mechanism having aiblade, a. movable part ,having a handle, means for transmitting movement from said movable part to said blade, mechanism for feeding the tickets forward one at a time, said feed mechanisin having a hanger, a dog carried thereby, a bell -crank lever interposed between said hanger and themovable part aforesaid, a spring for moving the hanger in the direction to advance the dog as the movable part-- aforesaid is moved in the direction to retract the blade, and a spring for moving said movable part in t-lie direction to retract the "blade, i l

8. In a `machine of the class described, the

combination of a ticket magazine, a ticket race, mechanism for feeding forward a. strip of tickets, one at a time, said feeding mechanism having a reciprocablel dog,

means for reciprocating it, and a presser spring for engaging the ticket strip and holding itdown upon the race, said presser spring being in engagement with the ticket strip throughout the entire range ofV travel of the dog.

9. In a. machine of the class deseribedpthe combination with means for support-ing a p'lurality of tickets, and mechanism for feeding the tickets foi-Ward and delivering them one at a time, of an automatically en'- gaging detent fork automatically engagingand locking the feeding mechanism inin-v operative condit-ionand manually operable 'of an automatically operating detent for automatically engaging and locking' the feeding mechanism in inoperative condition until released manually and manually operable means located Within the casing and detent inoperative;

thereby made inaccessible for rendering the 1l. In a machine of the class described, 'the combination with a casing having means for supporting a plurality of tickets and an opening through which said tickets are, de-

livered, of means tor feeding vthe tickets forward and delivering themthrough said delivery opening, one at a time, vof means for closing said delivery opening immedi-v ately prior to the. commencing oif'each for- Ward operation of the feeding mechanism,

automatically operating means for locking said closing means in its position closing the opening, said locking means losing retract-f able only manually, and manually operable means located viWithin the casing and thereby made inaccessible for rendering the automatically operating detent inoperative.

12. In a machine of the class described,

the 'combination with means for supporting a plurality of tickets, and mechanism for feeding them forward and delii-'ering them, one at a time7 of a detentautomatically operable tor engaging and locking the feeding mechanism, said detent being manually operable for retracting it, said detent having a slide adaptedto engage a moi'able part ot' the means for normally holding the feed mechanism in retracted position and for manually releasing it to permit its automatic engagement" with the feeding mechanism and means for preventing,suri'eptitious access to the slide Lt'or manually retracting it.

13. In a machine of the class describedi the combination with a casing adapted to contain a strip of tickets and havin-g an opening through which the tickets are delivered, cuttingv mechanism haring a blade adapted to close said delivery opening, mechanism for feeding the ticket Strips for- Ward, step by step, an automatic -detent adapted to-engage a movable part ot the cutting mechanism for locking it when the delivery opening is closed by the knife, said detent being retractable, an automaticallyenvgaging detent for automatically engaging and locking the feeding mechanism in in` 'operative condition and manually operable means located Within the casing and thereby made inaccessible for rendering the detent inoperative.

' JAJIES YIILEY SMALL. f lVitnesses:

JOHN E. Ricniioxn,

LESLIE B. NICHOLS. 

